Ichiraku ramen from Naruto (miso tonkotsu ramen)

Trim excess fat and meat off the pork belly (save the trim for a stir-fry); skin off is recommended.

Roll the pork belly into a tight tube, set it seam side down on four strings of butcher's twine and tie each tightly.

Sear the rolled pork in a large Dutch oven over high heat until golden brown at the edges (optional).

Add the chopped ginger, garlic and scallion, then shoyu, sake, water and sugar; cover with an otoshibuta and braise about two to three hours until tender.

Miso tare: in a small saucepan over medium heat combine red, white and mugi miso, grated ginger, minced garlic, shoyu, sake, mirin, togarashi and sesame seeds; cook a few minutes until thickened and set aside.

Pull the heads off the dried fish (they can be bitter) and soak the bodies in water.

Poke a hole in each egg and soft boil in boiling water for 6 and a half minutes, swirling the water so the yolks centre; shock in an ice bath.

After about 3 hours lift out the pork and chill it on a tray. Blot the fat off the braising liquid with a paper towel, strain it and pour it over the peeled eggs, pressing a paper towel on top to keep them submerged; refrigerate at least a day.

Tonkotsu broth: boil the pre-blanched pork femur bones, chicken carcass bones, chicken feet and pork fat back until the meat starts to fall off the bone; the fat emulsifies into the broth as it boils and reduces.

Add chopped cabbage, an onion, a carrot, half a head of garlic, scallions, ginger, half an apple and a potato; cook about two hours more.

Dashi: put the soaked fish in a smaller pot with kombu and dried shiitake for about 10 to 15 minutes over gentle heat, add katsuobushi and simmer gently until the heat has permeated; strain.

After about three hours the broth is thick and milky; whisk to break up bones and vegetables, add the dashi late so its flavour is not muted, and strain.

Remove the strings and slice the chashu into rounds; slice scallions and the Naruto maki; halve the marinated eggs at serving.

Brush the chashu with the egg marinade and blow torch it until the fat renders and crisps and the sugars caramelize.

Squeeze and compress the noodles a couple of times before boiling them.

Put a spoonful of miso tare in the bowl, ladle in the broth, add the noodles, then about seven slices of chashu, the egg, scallions, Naruto maki, menma and nori, working quickly.